Work set to start on Mere Green development scheme

Pictured set of shops on Lichfield Road at Mere Green, Sutton Coldfield for redevelopment.

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Long-awaited work to transform a Birmingham suburb is a matter of months away after it was finally brought to the market.

Plans to overhaul Mere Green, in Sutton Coldfield, much of which has lain empty since 2007, were delayed by the recession and the collapse of developer Castlemore in 2009.

But the site is now for sale, with offers of more than £6 million invited, and work is expected to begin early next year.

More than 50 developers and funds were understood to have expressed an interest in the scheme, which is being marketed by Cushman & Wakefield and already has Marks & Spencer and Boots signed up as tenants.

Mike Burden, a partner in the capital markets group at Cushman & Wakefield, said: “We are finally at a stage where we are in the market.

“The planning consent is there and we are ready to sell – we just need the right developer or fund to launch it.”

A masterplan drawn up by city architect Bob Ghosh, of K4, laid out the biggest overhaul of Mere Green in a generation.

The scheme, fronting onto Mere Green Road and Lichfield Road, includes 11 separate units and will see a mix of buildings and car parks replaced.

The work was given the green light five years ago but was delayed after Castlemore was put into administration in February 2009.

The project is expected to cost £6.7 million and bring in £1.2 million a year from rents.

Castlemore bought the three-acre site through its urban regeneration arm SpringUR for around £11 million in 2006 from Sutton Coldfield Municipal Charities.

Mr Ghosh added: “Although this has been a lengthy wait, the residents of Mere Green have shown remarkable patience and we will hopefully see activity on site within a few months.”